Friday, September 25, 2009

What good could come from NASA if we went to the MOON?What good came from NASA because of the Apollo missions?What good comes from NASA and its various missions?

Often the research that is done can also be used in our everyday life.The transfer of that technology is known as a NASA Spinoff.

You might think of Tang and the Apollo missions.Sorry wasn't a NASA Spinoff.The product just became familiar with the Apollo missions.

Never mind, there are a lot of items that fit the category of a NASA Spinoff.

Maybe you would like to read about some of them, that is if you have a lot of free time.NASA says that since 1976 there are over 1600 articles. Not included in that are over 100 stores in the 1973 and 1974 reports.

Here is the home page for STI, Scientific and Technical Information which you may well want to look at.- LRK ---------------------------------------------http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/NASA Spinoff

Spinoff is NASA's annual premier publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. For more than 40 years, the NASA Innovative Partnerships Program has facilitated the transfer of NASA technology to the private sector, benefiting global competition and the economy. The resulting commercialization has contributed to the development of commercial products and services in the fields of health and medicine, industry, consumer goods, transportation, public safety, computer technology, and environmental resources. Since 1976,Spinoffhas featured between 40 and 50 of these commercial products annually. Spinoff maintains a searchable database of every technology published since its inception. If you think you have the makings of a spinoff, please contact us through the contributor form.--------------------------------------------

As a result of a 1958 congressional mandate, NASA, in 1962, created the Technology Utilization Program. It was supported by Technology Utilization Offices at each of the field centers and four Industrial Applications Centers (IACs). The number of IACs grew rapidly to seven by the early 1970s and ten in the early 1980s.

Early studies of Tech Briefs, the publication dedicated to informing the scientific community about available NASA technologies, and ongoing requests received for supporting information, indicated a strong need in the private sector for new technology to aid in the development of commercial products and services. When spinoff products began to emerge from space technologies, NASA considered the possibility of an annual report to present at congressional budget hearings. The result was a black and white “Technology Utilization Program Report,” published in 1973, followed by another one in 1974. The technologies in these reports createdinterest in the technology transfer concept, its successes, and its use as a public awareness tool. The reports generated such keen interest by the public that NASA decided to make them into anattractive publication. Thus, the first four-color edition of Spinoff was published in 1976.

Each year since, a new issue has highlighted the transfer of NASA technology to the private sector. The Agency distributes copies to politicians, economic decision makers, company CEOs, academics, professionals in technology transfer, the news media, and the general public.

NASA’s Spinoff publication accomplishes several goals. First, it is a convincing justification for the continued expenditure of NASA funds. It serves as a tool to educate the media and the general public by informing them about the benefits and dispelling the myth of wasted taxpayer dollars. It reinforces interest in space exploration. It demonstrates the possibility to apply aerospace technology in different environments. It highlights the ingenuity of American inventors, entrepreneurs, and application engineers, and the willingness of a government agency to assist them. And finally, it continues to ensure global competitiveness and technological leadership by the United States.

The total number of stories published since 1976 is over 1,600, which does not include approximately 100 stories featured in the 1973 and 1974 reports.

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Well are you ready to sit back with your favorite drink and read on.Just a few issues to catch up on.- LRK -

Alright, who wants to copy all 1700 items to a list that you can pull out of your mouth like a magician, just pull the ribbon out slowly, sounding off each of the items that have had their begging with NASA and now find a place with us. That would be a mouthful wouldn't it?

How many more could you speak to when we set up shop on the Moon and solve the problems in doing so?What technology will transfer to use down here on Earth?

What is Spinoff's objective?When and why was Spinoff created?Who receives Spinoff?How do I subscribe to Spinoff?How does NASA transfer its technology to the private sector?What is the difference between a "NASA spinoff" and a "NASA success"?How does Spinoff differ from NASA's Tech Briefs publication?Did NASA invent the ever-popular memory foam found in many consumerapplications?Did NASA invent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)?Did NASA invent cordless power tools?Did NASA invent barcodes, quartz clocks, or smoke detectors?Are Tang, Teflon, and Velcro NASA spinoffs?

This database contains abstracts of all Spinoff articles published since 1976. Links to the full-text articles in PDF are also provided.

Inclusion in this database does not imply that the products are still commercially available. To check the availability of a product, contact the manufacturer using information provided within each entry. Similarly, inclusion does not imply NASA endorsement or validation of claims made by the companies regarding performance or effectiveness.

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the moon. Instruments aboard three separate spacecraft revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small. Hydroxyl, a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom, also was found in the lunar soil. The findings were published in Thursday's edition of the journal Science.

NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, or M3, instrument reported the observations. M3 was carried into space on Oct. 22, 2008, aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, or VIMS, on NASA's Cassini spacecraft, and the High-Resolution Infrared ImagingSpectrometer on NASA's Epoxi spacecraft contributed to confirmation of the finding. The spacecraft imaging spectrometers made it possible to map lunar water more effectively than ever before.

The confirmation of elevated water molecules and hydroxyl at these concentrations in the moon's polar regions raises new questions about its origin and effect on the mineralogy of the moon. Answers to these questions will be studied and debated for years to come.

"Water ice on the moon has been something of a holy grail for lunar scientists for a very long time," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This surprising finding has come about through the ingenuity, perseverance and international cooperation between NASA and the India Space Research Organization."

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Pass it on, Talk it up. Get the ball rolling, we want to go drilling on the Moon.- LRK -

September 24, 2009: NASA scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the Moon. Instruments aboard three separate spacecraft revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small. Hydroxyl, a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom, also was found in the lunar soil. The findings were published in Thursday's edition of the journal Science.

The observations were made by NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, or M3 ("M-cubed"), aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. NASA's Cassini spacecraft and NASA's Epoxi spacecraft have confirmed the find.

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I would really like to have ground proof. Boil that regolith for my coffee water. :-)

GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA reported Thursday that its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully completed its testing and calibration phase and entered its mapping orbit of the moon. The spacecraft already has made significant progress toward creating the most detailed atlas of the moon's south pole to date. Scientists released preliminary images and data from LRO's seven instruments. "The LRO mission already has begun to give us new data that will lead to a vastly improved atlas of the lunar south pole and advance our capability for human exploration and scientific benefit," said Richard Vondrak, LRO project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

LRO is scheduled for a one-year exploration mission in a polar orbit of about 31 miles above the lunar surface, the closest any spacecraft has orbited the moon. During the next year, LRO will produce a complete map of the lunar surface in unprecedented detail, search for resources and safe landing sites for human explorers, and measurelunar temperatures and radiation levels.

Since man first touched the moon and brought pieces of it back to Earth, scientists have thought that the lunar surface was bone dry. But new observations from three different spacecraft have put this notion to rest with what has been called "unambiguous evidence" of water across the surface of the moon.

The new findings, detailed in the Sept. 25 issue of the journal Science, come in the wake of further evidence of lunar polar water ice by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and just weeks before the planned lunar impact of NASA's LCROSS satellite, which will hit one of the permanently shadowed craters at the moon's south pole in hope ofchurning up evidence of water ice deposits in the debris field.

The moon remains drier than any desert on Earth, but the water is said to exist on the moon in very small quantities. One ton of the top layer of the lunar surface would hold about 32 ounces of water, researchers said.

The Moon is a Not-So-Harsh Mistress [Built on Facts]Posted: 24 Sep 2009 12:16 PM PDTAstronomers and space exploration enthusiasts around the web are expressing lots of enthusiasm for the discovery of water on the moon by the Indian Chandrayaan-1 orbiter. Long story short (Ethan has a good version of the long story), the probe discovered relatively large quantities of water frozen throughout the lunar soil just below the surface. It's not just at the bottom of craters in the polar regions, but instead seems to be quite widespread.

It's a big deal for a lot of reasons. From a pure science perspective, it's exciting to learn such a major and mostly unexpected fact about or nearest large celestial neighbor. From a human exploration perspective, water is vital for long term lunar settlement. It's not just something to drink, it's a potential source of breathable oxygen as well as a source of atomic hydrogen and oxygen for chemical production of all kinds of important substances. Rocket fuel is themost obvious, but far from the only possibility .

Hard on the heels of the water-on-the-Moon announcement comes news of water on Mars (there’s also a press release). Now, we already know there’s water ice on Mars; it’s been seen in a zillion places. What’s cool about this is that there’s a lot of it, and the water is incredibly pure: less than 1% of it is made up of dirt mixed in. That’s probably better than I get out of my tap at home.

This picture, taken in November 2008, is by the awesomely awesome HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has seen several of these patches, where ice just beneath the surface isexcavated and ejected by an impact event. They all appear to be craters formed from recent impacts, and by "recent" I mean recent: the one shown above was not there in early 2008.

snip-----------------------------------------------------------------NASA Science News for September 24, 2009Fresh meteorite impacts are exposing underground ice on Mars. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is beaming back must-see photos of the process at work.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

I have received some comments about the last post on "The $3-billion-a-year question - Can you answer the question - Why?"It seems you think we should go to the Moon and to develop it.Some would say we should continue with what we had set out to do.

Dr. Ronald Wells, who has a small private company and does photogrammetric analysis of lunar & planetary photos,sent me a note that he had co-written a 3-page letter to the Augustine Commission with William Mellberg, a noted aerospace historian (AW&ST; Aviation publications; last month's Keynote Speaker at the 60th Anniversary of the maiden flight of the Avro Jetliner in Toronto; author of "Moon Missions"; etc.). The letter apparently had some impact at NASA because Ron also noted that they had received a very nice reply from Michael Hawes, Associate Administrator of the Program Analysis & Evaluation Division (NASA's in-house OMB). They also had an earlier email from Jack Schmitt in support. Ron showed me these letters, too. They also sent the letter to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Az), but after they had sent copies to their cc: list.

You can read a bit more about Ronald A. Wells here. Much thanks for all the Apollo information he has sent me over the years. - LRK -

"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win ..."--President John F. Kennedy (speaking at Rice University in 1962)

We wish we had sent this letter to you sooner. If we had, we would have told you that the best plan for Human Space Flight that we've read was already issued last year by NASA HQ (NP-2008-08-542-HQ ), "NASA Advisory Council Workshop On Science Associated With The Lunar Exploration Architecture" (February 27-March 2, 2007; Tempe, Arizona). This workshop report was prepared by an Organizing Committee of 31 scientists distilled from material presented by 75 attending scientists.

The report justifies all aspects of America's return to the Moon in terms of conducting Lunar Science, Earth Science, Heliophysics and Astrophysics from a lunar research station located on the rim of Shackleton Crater at the Moon's South Pole. It also discusses the long-term value of such a lunar base for Planetary Science and the future exploration of Mars and other destinations (such as asteroids). It is a well-reasoned and viable plan (Apollo 17 scientist-astronaut Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt provided significant input) which NASA should be following now and in the coming decade.

We will not belabor the points already raised by a document in the public domain. But it should (at the very least) have formed the working basis for your Commission. That said, please permit us to add some further points. The implementation of the recommendations in the aforementioned NASA report would have a profound effect on the development of a new industry and economy based on space travel and the exploration of the Solar System--comparable, we would suggest, to the effect on the global economy of commercial airline development during the last century. This transition to the future should be led by the United States as we are in the best position to carry freedom and free enterprise into the New Frontier.

It is not a question of whether any one program will fit within the NASA budget. The point is that the NASA budget MUST be increased to facilitate adoption of the NASA Advisory Council's 2008 workshop recommendations (as it was during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations in support of the Apollo Program). In other words, NASA should stay on course with the Constellation Program--including the development of both the Ares I (now ready for its first test launch) and Ares V launch vehicles. It is an investment in our children's future--not a waste of resources (which would be the case were these recommendations not implemented, and the work already accomplished to be cast aside).

To illustrate this point, we would like to cite four historical cases related to the lack of political will on the part of three different governments with regard to the development of the aircraft industry:

(1) The forced cancellation of the Northrop YB-49 flying wing in 1949, after contracts had already been drawn up with the U.S. Air Force, has been described by some aerospace experts as the single greatest mistreatment of an American aircraft manufacturer by the American government--and as the worst political and defense blunder in the history of the United States. Thirty years after the B-49 was cancelled (largely on political grounds), the "wheel" had to be reinvented with the Northrop B-2. What was the cost to the American taxpayer (and to aeronautical science) of the misguided decision to cancel the flying wing program (and its related stealth technology) 60 years ago?

(2) The forced cancellation by the Canadian government of the Avro C102 Jetliner, first flown 60 years ago this month, has been rated by some airline industry experts as the single greatest technological and economic blunder in Canada's history. This pioneering jet transport set numerous records as it toured major airports across North America. Howard Hughes, who owned TWA at the time, wanted to purchase the Jetliner for commercial air routes. The aircraft was a full decade ahead of any similar transport. But the Canadian government prevented the Jetliner from going into production because of political considerations. Consequently, Canada lost billions of dollars in export revenues and the opportunity to lead the world in jet transport development.

(3) In a similar defense blunder by the Canadian government, the Avro CF-105 Arrow, the most advanced jet fighter of its time, was canceled by a newly-elected prime minister on the grounds of cost savings. In a single day, that misguided decision put nearly 15,000 highly-skilled people out of work at Avro, and another 15,000 employees in support industries across Canada. The brand-new Arrows were ordered to be scrapped in the presence of armed security guards. What a total waste! Avro went out of business as a result, and Canada lost the opportunity to lead the world in the design and development of advanced military aircraft. (Canada's loss was America's gain as two dozen of Avro's best engineers came to NASA and took leading roles in the Apollo Program. Owen Maynard, for example, was a key figure in the design of the Lunar Module.)

(4) A somewhat similar fate befell the Swedish aircraft manufacturer, SAAB. Although it produced several highly-advanced jet fighters in the 1950s (Tunnan, Lansen, Draken) because successive Swedish governments had the will to pay the high price for high technology, Sweden's short-sighted leaders pulled the plug on SAAB's first commercial airliner in 1951. The Scandia, as it was called, could have enjoyed global sales. But owing to the Cold War heating up at that time, the Swedish government ordered SAAB to abandon a promising commercial program to focus on the production of warplanes. Thus, SAAB lost the opportunity to generate billions of export dollars for Sweden's economy. (The firm finally entered the airline market 30 years later with its SAAB 340 regional transport.)

The message is clear: governments which do not have the will to invest in high technology and to balance that technology between civilian enterprises (such as America's space program) and military programs do not lead the world in economic development.

The moral of these stories with respect to the current administration is that its rush to change horses in midstream--in fact, to give up trying to cross that stream at all--will lead to disastrous consequences that can have a serious effect on profligate spending which should have been more wisely invested instead of wasted.

More to the point, if we (the United States) do not return to the Moon to explore and employ its resources for the benefit of humankind, someone else will (for their own benefit). We believe, as John Kennedy believed, that America should lead the way into the New Frontier. What a tragedy it would be to turn our backs on the future--and to ignore the legacy of President Kennedy.

Every great adventure throughout history has been marked by something simple, yet profound--the will to do it.

Fig. 1. The Avro Jetliner in flight in 1949, North America’s first commercial jetliner, cancelled in production by C. D. Howe of the Canadian Government leading to the loss of Canada’s preeminence in the commercial jet industry. (By permission of George Laidlaw via Jim Floyd)

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Fig. 2. The Northrop YB-49 in flight over Edwards Air Force Base, California in 1948, cancelled by Stuart Symington, Secretary of the Air Force, after contracts had been signed with Northrop. Thirty years later, the Northrop B-2, its successor, became the preeminent U.S. bomber. (U.S. Air Force photo no. 090706-F-1234K-053)

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Two other notes from you folks I have copied below.- LRK -Thanks for looking up with me.

The answer, while almost impossible to put into words, is one humanityhas addressed and answered before. Why leave Africa? Why learn to travelover the world's oceans and colonize the other continents before anyonewas there? Why, for that matter, colonize uninhabitable places likeArizona? Whatever the answers to these questions, any answers areidentical to the answer of, Why send people to explore and colonize theplanets?

The question should hardly be worth asking. If it is, why don't we alljust go back to a rift valley in Africa and go quietly extinct.

Virtually every science fiction writer has said that if we don'tlook to the stars and plan for exploration, we will stagnate anddie. Piers Anthony in his Introduction to this little gem, "But Whatof Earth?", talks about an experiment with mice (I've also heard itwith rats). These two rodents, one male and one female, are placedin a very large cage with plenty of food, shelter and no predators.Of course they breed like crazy. After a while the cage isovercrowded. Even though there is still plenty of food, the rodentsstart to go crazy. Some get paranoid, some attack anything, and theyoung become just wierd. Well, you get the picture. Look at anynewspaper and you'll see that we have too many rats on this littleblue marble. If we don't keep looking up and dreaming; well, you getthe picture.

Monday, September 21, 2009

I know, you think, yes go, go.How do you convince those in charge of the pocket book that they should fund?Just saying, "Because ...." may not be enough.You might want to read what Jeff Foust has written and see what you think.- LRK -

It’s little surprise that, since the Review of US Human Space FlightPlans Committee (aka the Augustine committee after its chairman, NormAugustine) released its summary report nearly two weeks ago, that itscontents have dominated the debate about the future of NASA’sexploration plans. The options included in the report were in linewith what the committee considered during its public hearings, but thereport’s language, starting with its initial sentence—“The U.S. humanspaceflight program appears to be on an unsustainable trajectory”—madeits contents particularly stark. NASA’s current program, with itscurrent budget and its current schedule, just isn’t possible;something would have to change.snip

The debate over options and funding, though, is missing a bigger, morestrategic question. It’s a question that, if answered completely andconvincingly, makes it much easier to resolve the issues of theoptions to pursue and funding needed to accomplish them. It’s aquestion of childlike simplicity but can be difficult to answer. Itcan also be summarized in a single word: why? As in, why should the UShave a human spaceflight program?snip-----------------------------------------------------------

What some have offered as reasons we should go to space.- LRK ------------------------------------------------------------http://www.nssnyc.org/amillionreasons.htmlA Million Reasons To Go To Space-----------------------------------------------------------

Wealth, opportunities, jobs-- Most everything made on earth can be made in space at less cost.Manufacturing facilities can be made quickly using a few mold forms,asteroid materials, sand casting, and assembly of molded pieces intomodules that interconnect.-- Business means jobs and space has everything the brightentreprenuer wants and the additional advantage of the flexibility incontrolling G-forces from many times that of earth down to zero-G andthe added increased productivity and any new product possibilitiesdiscovered therefrom.-- The world's oil and gas reserves are running out. We must deal withthe energy crisis and the depletion of natural resources. Theresources of space are essential to any serious effort to tackle theseproblems.snip-----------------------------------------------------------

Space Renaissance is a new, global philosophy, having its basic groundon Earth, and its natural development in the extraterrestrial space.Our founding concepts are New Humanism and Astro Humanism. We look atthe past Renaissance (1500) as an inspiration for patronage andcapability to aim high, and to make great projects by means of goodwill and mutual cooperation.Among our scopes:- to give birth to a Foundation- to build a great school for graduates and post-graduate doctorates and masters- to build the philosophy and the culture of the Space Age, to helpthe New Renaissance of Humanity in SpaceThe Space Renaissance Initiative published a call for a world wideforum -- the Space Renaissance Forum -- to be held one week before thenext G20!snip-----------------------------------------------------------

Well it will be interesting to see what develops in the next 30 years,that is if I live to be 101. :-)

NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez, back on Earth after competing theSTS-128 shuttle mission to the ISS earlier this month, iscontemplating his future, a Stockton (Calif.) Record article todaynotes. He tells his hometown paper that he hopes to get assigned “to aspace mission aboard a Russian aircraft”, which is likely the papergarbling a desire tto go to the ISS on a Soyuz mission. The paper addssomething interesting, though: “He also is contemplating a politicalcareer to represent the Stockton area in Congress.”snip==============================================================http://www.personalspaceflight.info/PERSONAL SPACEFLIGHTSpace tourism, public space travel, and the beginnings of a new industrysnip==============================================================

Friday, September 18, 2009

LRO has started mapping the Moon and being in a polar orbit lets itcross the poles on each orbit.Already data is starting to fill in what the poles have to offer forfinding Hydrogen and possibly water in those dark craters.- LRK -

After two months of checkout and calibration, NASA's $504 millionLunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was maneuvered into a circular31-mile-high mapping orbit Tuesday and scientists said Thursday thespacecraft's instruments are delivering intriguing clues about thepossible presence of water ice.

"The moon is starting to reveal her secrets, but some of those secretsare tantalizingly complex," said Michael Wargo, NASA's chief lunarscientist.snip--------------------------------------------------------

GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA showcased new images from the LunarReconnaissance Orbiter's seven instruments and provided updates aboutthe topography of the moon's south pole during a news conference onSeptember 17. NASA also provided an update about the spacecraft'sstatus and mission plans. The briefing took place at NASA's GoddardSpace Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

I hope not only the press but the general public gets the word that weare at the Moon and getting good data'Hopefully we will have some good decisions on where would be a goodplace to land with humans.

AND, that we do indeed land humans on the Moon with the goal tounderstand it and develope it.- LRK -

GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA reported Thursday that its Lunar ReconnaissanceOrbiter, or LRO, has successfully completed its testing andcalibration phase and entered its mapping orbit of the moon. Thespacecraft already has made significant progress toward creating themost detailed atlas of the moon's south pole to date. Scientistsreleased preliminary images and data from LRO's seven instruments.

"The LRO mission already has begun to give us new data that will leadto a vastly improved atlas of the lunar south pole and advance ourcapability for human exploration and scientific benefit," said RichardVondrak, LRO project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centerin Greenbelt, Md.

LRO is scheduled for a one-year exploration mission in a polar orbitof about 31 miles above the lunar surface, the closest any spacecrafthas orbited the moon. During the next year, LRO will produce acomplete map of the lunar surface in unprecedented detail, search forresources and safe landing sites for human explorers, and measurelunar temperatures and radiation levels.

"The LRO instruments, spacecraft, and ground systems continue tooperate essentially flawlessly," said Craig Tooley, LRO projectmanager at Goddard "The team completed the planned commissioning andcalibration activities on time and also got a significant head startcollecting data even before we moved to the mission's mapping orbit."

The south pole of the moon is of great interest to explorers becausepotential resources such as water ice or hydrogen may exist there.Permanently shadowed polar craters that are bitterly cold at theirbottoms may hold deposits of water ice or hydrogen from comet impactsor the solar wind. The deposits may have accumulated in these"cold-trap" regions over billions of years. If enough of theseresources exist to make mining practical, future long-term humanmissions to the moon potentially could save the considerable expenseof hauling water from Earth.

First results from LRO's Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector, or LEND,indicate that permanently shadowed and nearby regions may harbor waterand hydrogen. Additional observations will be needed to confirm this.LEND relies on a decrease in neutron radiation from the lunar surfaceto indicate the presence of water or hydrogen.

"If these deposits are present, an analysis of them will help usunderstand the interaction of the moon with the rest of the solarsystem," Vondrak said.

Data from LRO's Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter, or LOLA, however,indicates that exploring these areas will be challenging because theterrain is very rough. The roughness is probably a result of the lackof atmosphere and absence of erosion from wind or water, according toDavid Smith, LOLA principal investigator at Goddard.

LRO's other instruments also are providing data to help map the moon'sterrain and resources. According to the first measurements from theDiviner instrument, large areas in the permanently shadowed cratersare about minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Kelvin), more than coldenough to store water ice or hydrogen for billions of years.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera is providing high-resolutionimages of permanently shadowed regions while lighting conditionschange as the moon's south pole enters lunar summer.

LRO's Lyman Alpha Mapping Project, or LAMP, also is preparing tosearch for surface ice and frost in the polar regions. The instrumentprovides images of permanently shadowed regions illuminated only bystarlight and the glow of interplanetary hydrogen emission. LAMP hasprovided information to confirm the instrument is working well on boththe lunar night and day sides.

The Mini RF Technology Demonstration on LRO has confirmedcommunications capability and produced detailed radar images ofpotential targets for LRO's companion mission, the Lunar CraterObservation and Sensing Satellite, which will impact the moon's southpole on Oct. 9.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

The HTV-1’s berthing was complete at 10:49 a.m. September 18, as theHTV FCT confirmed the power and data transmission between the HTV-1and the ISS. The hatch opening of the HTV's Pressurized LogisticsCarrier (PLC) is expected in the early morning of September 19. Thenext HTV-1 Mission update will be posted on September 19.------------------------------------------------------------------

So Japan is happy that flying to the ISS was successful and then itlooks like China is happy about what they are doing in space.- LRK -

China said Thursday its rapidly growing space programme was thecrowning achievement of the nation's high-tech transformation andpledged to continue to develop it to close the gap with Westerncountries.snip

GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA reported Thursday that its Lunar ReconnaissanceOrbiter, or LRO, has successfully completed its testing andcalibration phase and entered its mapping orbit of the moon. Thespacecraft already has made significant progress toward creating themost detailed atlas of the moon's south pole to date. Scientistsreleased preliminary images and data from LRO's seven instruments.

"The LRO mission already has begun to give us new data that will leadto a vastly improved atlas of the lunar south pole and advance ourcapability for human exploration and scientific benefit," said RichardVondrak, LRO project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centerin Greenbelt, Md.

LRO is scheduled for a one-year exploration mission in a polar orbitof about 31 miles above the lunar surface, the closest any spacecrafthas orbited the moon. During the next year, LRO will produce acomplete map of the lunar surface in unprecedented detail, search forresources and safe landing sites for human explorers, and measurelunar temperatures and radiation levels.snip------------------------------------------------------------------

Is that enough to cheer about or do you want someone to say, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

The Demonstration Flight H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) was successfullyberthed at the International Space Station (ISS) at 10:49 a.m. onSeptember 18 (Japan Standard Time, JST.)

The HTV started its final approach to the ISS, and was captured by theISS robotic arm at 4:51 a.m. on September 18 (JST.) Then at 10:49 a.m.on September 18 (JST,) the HTV was berthed at the ISS after beingmaneuvered by the ISS robotic arm.

The ISS onboard crew will transfer the cargo shipped in thePressurized Carrier of the HTV to ISS. Cargo in the unpressurizedcarrier will be lifted out by the ISS and Kibo robotic arms to beinstalled onto the Kibo's Exposed Facility. More details of the cargotransfer operation will be advised as they become available.

The Demonstration Flight H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), launched by theH-IIB Test Flight Launch Vehicle on September 11, 2009 from theTanegashima Space Center, was successfully berthed at theInternational Space Station (ISS) at 10:49 p.m. today, on September 18(Japan Standard Time, JST.)The Demonstration Flight HTV was docked at the ISS through the uniqueJapanese method of being maneuvered by the ISS robotic arm. The HTVonboard cargo is now ready to be unloaded at the ISS.With the successful berthing at the ISS, the HTV mission overcame themost critical point of the mission. However, the important operationsof cargo transfer, departure from the ISS, and re-entry to theatmosphere still remain. We will do our utmost to successfullycomplete all the tasks of the mission.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), launched on June 18th,2009, will return more data about the Moon than any previous mission.The Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP), developed by SouthwestResearch Institute, uses a novel method to peer into the perpetualdarkness of the Moon's so-called permanently shadowed regions - thedark side of the moon.

LAMP is nearly identical to the successful Alice instruments developedby SwRI, already flying aboard the joint NASA/ESA Rosetta spacecraft,which is targeting the ancient comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and NASA'sNew Horizons spacecraft, which will probe the atmospheric compositionof Pluto and search for an atmosphere over its large moon Charon. LAMPweighs only 6.1 kilograms and uses only 4.5 watts of power.

Armadillo Aerospace is a leading developer of reusable rocket poweredvehicles. We are focused on VTVL (vertical takeoff, vertical landing)suborbital research and passenger flights, with an eye towardseventual paths to orbit.snip

It has been a long time since I did an update, but it hasn't been because nothing has been going on. Quite the opposite, in fact -- things have been incredibly busy. Outside of Armadillo, the big new for me personally was that Id Software, my video game company, was acquired by Zenimax Media. This doesn't have any real impact on my relative time commitment to Armadillo, since I expect to continue devoting the majority of my time to software for the foreseeable future, but it does mean that I have more personal resources to call on if necessary.snip

This will be the technical update, I'll leave it to Phil and Matt to put together the media and color update. The X-Prize website has some early videos of the flights, but I expect that there will be some great footage from the NASA TV crew later.

It’s easy to miss Caddo Mills Municipal Airport. About the only evidence of the airport visible from the highway leading north from Interstate 30, about 70 kilometers northeast of Dallas, is a highway sign just before an intersection and, at the intersection itself, a faded sign advertising a now-defunct glider business there. The first hint that something usual was happening there on Saturday was the police checkpoint on the side road leading onto the airport. At the checkpoint an officer asked simply, “Are you here to watch it?”

There was little chance of mistaking what “it” was. The little-used airport is home to Armadillo Aerospace, having taken over the hangar previously used by the glider business, and Saturday was the day that the team planned to fly its Super Mod vehicle, named Scorpius, on a flight profile for Level 2 of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge (LLC). (The Scorpius name is in honor of Microcosm, the company that provided the high-pressure lightweight composite tanks used on the vehicle; Microcosm proposed a class of launch vehicles called Scorpius a number of years ago.) A successful flight would put Armadillo in prime position to claim the $1-million first prize for Level 2 as part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges program.

For your viewing pleasure, here are the two flights conducted by Armadillo Aerospace yesterday. With this success, Armadillo is in position to win the $1 million Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge - Level Two, First Place prize.

We offer our heartiest congratulations to Armadillo--and our best wishes to the other teams. We look forward to attending launches by team Masten, team Unreasonable Rocket, and perhaps others in the coming weeks. Reminder: the last day to register is Tuesday!

More camera angles--including some beautiful video from the onboard cameras--will be coming soon. Without further ado:snip==============================================================http://spacestation-shuttle.blogspot.com/NASA International Space Station Mission Shuttle Earth Science News Technology Mars SystemGet latest news on Nasa International Space Station Shuttle Missions Google Earth Science and Technology Universe Astronomy Moon and Mars Solar System Milky Way Planet Earth Satellite Space TelescopeWednesday, September 16, 2009Eyes on the Prize

Armadillo Aerospace successfully met the Level 2 requirements for the Centennial Challenges - Lunar Lander Challenge and qualified to win a $1 million dollar first place prize. The flights were conducted Sept. 12 at the Armadillo Aerospace test facility in Caddo Mills, Texas.

To qualify for the Level 2 prize, Armadillo Aerospace's rocket vehicle took off from one concrete pad, ascended horizontally, then landed on a second pad that featured boulders and craters to simulate the lunar surface. After refueling at that pad, the vehicle then repeated the flight back and landed at the original pad. The vehicle completed the round trip, including fueling and refueling operations, in one hour and 47 minutes. That was well within the two and half hour time limit for the challenge. Armadillo Aerospace also met the requirement to remain aloft under rocket power for three minutes during each of the flights.

In this image, technicians Neil Milburn, Russ Blink and Mike Vinther are shown on the launch pad performing a vehicle inspection.

EDWARDS, Calif. -- Space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven astronauts ended a 14-day journey of more than 5.7 million miles with an 5:53 p.m. PDT landing Friday at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The mission, designated STS-128, delivered two refrigerator-sized science racks to the International Space Station. One rack will be used to conduct experiments on materials such as metals, glasses and ceramics. The results from these experiments could lead to the development of better materials on Earth. The other rack will be used for fluid physics research. Understanding how fluids react in microgravity could lead to improved designs for fuel tanks, water systems and other fluid-based systems.

STS-128 Commander Rick Sturckow was joined on the mission by Pilot Kevin Ford, Mission Specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang. NASA astronaut Nicole Stott flew to the complex aboard Discovery to begin a nearly three-month mission as a station resident, replacing Tim Kopra, who returned home on Discovery.

snip--------------------------------------------------------

How interesting, I am asked what kinds of science has been accomplished on the ISS and some reports over the years have talked about what hasn't and what has.

Two racks delivered to the ISS, here in 2009 when similar ones were desired long ago but were delayed with all of the adjustments to whatwould become the ISS.

One rack will be used to conduct experiments on materials such as metals, glasses and ceramics.The other rack will be used for fluid physics research.

When I was at NASA Ames I remember the centrifuge that was going to be attached to the ISS and never happened. There was going to be a facility to load modules for experiments that never materialized either.- LRK -

--------------------------------------------------------Factors Affecting the Utilization of the International Space Station for Research in the Biological and Physical Sciences (2003)Space Studies Board (SSB)

TASK DESCRIPTION AND HISTORYThis report represents phase II of a study requested by Congress and conducted by the Task Group on Research on the International Space Station to examine factors affecting the utilization of the International Space Station (ISS) for research. The phase I report, released in September of 2001, looked at the readiness of the scientific community to utilize the ISS1 and the benefits and costs of flying additional shuttle missions dedicated to science during the station build-up2 (NRC, 2001). During the course of that study, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it would make major changes in the final ISS configuration in order to address construction cost overruns. These design changes (discussedbelow) would reduce considerably the research capabilities of the ISS and therefore had to be taken into account when the task group made its phase I recommendations. While the task group concluded in that report that the research community was in fact ready to utilize theISS, it also pointed out that the uncertainty resulting from years of schedule delays, funding fluctuations, and lack of flight opportunities seriously threatened the continued viability of the ISS research community in many disciplines. The task group also noted that the planned reductions in ISS capabilities would exacerbate this problem considerably.snip--------------------------------------------------------[The above report can be read on-line and even down loaded if you care to register with The National Academies Press.]

For what is reported that has been accomplished on present ISS in its limited 3 person, no life boat version, see the recent report.- LRK -

CAPE CANAVERAL - Former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin apparently has sent a scathing memo to friends and supporters in Washington, lashing out at the work of the presidential committee reviewing NASA’s human space flight plans and calling some of its recommendations “irresponsible.”snip

Clearly the battle lines in the looming fight over the future of human space flight at NASA are being drawn.

Well at least I don't need to worry about my job, I don't have one. :-)You may not feel the same and would really like to see us doing exciting things with space that you and your kids could take part in, and maybe even get paid for.

Do you know someone, who just might know someone, who knows someone, that could poke someone and say, hey we would like to continue looking up. :-)

EDWARDS, Calif. -- Space shuttle Discovery and its crew of sevenastronauts ended a 14-day journey of more than 5.7 million miles withan 5:53 p.m. PDT landing Friday at Edwards Air Force Base inCalifornia.

The mission, designated STS-128, delivered two refrigerator-sizedscience racks to the International Space Station. One rack will beused to conduct experiments on materials such as metals, glasses andceramics. The results from these experiments could lead to thedevelopment of better materials on Earth. The other rack will be usedfor fluid physics research. Understanding how fluids react inmicrogravity could lead to improved designs for fuel tanks, watersystems and other fluid-based systems.

STS-128 Commander Rick Sturckow was joined on the mission by PilotKevin Ford, Mission Specialists Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, DannyOlivas and European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang. NASAastronaut Nicole Stott flew to the complex aboard Discovery to begin anearly three-month mission as a station resident, replacing Tim Kopra,who returned home on Discovery.

Weather concerns prevented the crew from returning to NASA's KennedySpace Center in Florida, the primary end-of-mission landing site. In7-10 days, Discovery will be transported approximately 2,500 milesfrom California to Florida on the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet.Once at Kennedy, Discovery will be separated from the aircraft tobegin processing for its next flight, targeted for March 2010.

A welcome ceremony for the crew's return to Houston will be held atEllington Field's NASA Hangar 990 at 4 p.m. CDT on Saturday, Sept. 12.The public is invited to attend.

In addition to carrying a new station crew member, Discovery and thecrew also delivered a new sleeping compartment, an air purificationsystem and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert. Themission included three spacewalks that replaced experiments outsidethe European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory and an empty ammoniastorage tank. Ammonia is needed to move excess heat from inside thestation to the radiators located outside.

Disney's toy astronaut Buzz Lightyear also returned from the spacestation aboard Discovery. He flew to the station in May 2008 onshuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission and served as the longest tenured"crew member" in space. While on the station, Buzz supported NASA'seducation outreach by creating a series of online educational outreachprograms.

With Discovery and its crew safely home, the stage is set for thelaunch of shuttle Atlantis on its STS-129 mission. Atlantis' liftoffcurrently is targeted for Nov.12, although shuttle and station teamsare assessing Nov. 9 as a potential launch date. The flight will focuson storing important spare hardware on the station's exterior. The11-day flight will include three spacewalks and the installation oftwo platforms to the station's truss, or backbone. Atlantis also willbring Stott back to Earth.

Stott and STS-128 astronaut Hernandez are providing updates onTwitter. To connect to their Twitter feeds and other NASA socialmedia, visit:http://www.nasa.gov/collaborate

==============================================================Wonder where the trash will go now that Discovery has landed at Edwards? - LRK ---------------------------------------------http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts128/090907fd11/index2.htmlLeonardo stowed as space crews say their farewellsBY WILLIAM HARWOODSTORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSIONPosted: September 7, 2009

Closing out a successful resupply mission, two Discovery astronauts,operating the International Space Station's robot arm, detached acargo module from the lab complex late Monday and returned it to theshuttle's cargo bay for the trip back to Earth Thursday.

snipLoaded with 2,412 pounds of no-longer-needed hardware and trash, theLeonardo multi-purpose logistics module was disconnected from thestation's forward Harmony module around 8 p.m. Shuttle pilot KevinFord and Jose Hernandez, operating the space station's robot arm,carefully moved the module to Discovery's payload bay where it waslocked down shortly after 9 p.m.

snip==============================================================Factors Affecting the Utilization of the International Space Stationfor Research in the Biological and Physical Sciences (2003)Space Studies Board (SSB)

Construction of the International Space Station (ISS), underdevelopment since the late 1980s, began with the launch of its firstelement in November 1998 and is ongoing. In the spring of 2001, theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that itwould make major changes in the final configuration of the ISS inorder to address serious construction cost overruns. The new ISSconfiguration is referred to by NASA as “Core Complete”; the earlierconfiguration was based on NASA’s Rev. F design documentation. Somedecisions regarding the new configuration are yet to be finalized, butthe changes from Rev. F currently include the deletion of a crewreturn vehicle, which will force a reduction in the number of ISS crewfrom six or seven to three; the deletion of a number of the majorscience facilities planned for the ISS; and a reduction in the numberof annual shuttle flights to the ISS. Serious concerns have arisenwithin the science community and elsewhere that these changes wouldjeopardize the ability of the ISS to support the world-class sciencethat has often been cited as its primary purpose. This report examinesthe factors, including ISS design changes, that limit the ability ofthe science community to utilize the ISS for research and makesrecommendations for maximizing the ISS’s research potential.

IMPACT OF CORE COMPLETE DESIGN ON RESEARCH

The task group reviewed individually most of the principal areas ofscience that were intended to be supported on the ISS and consideredthe impact that the design changes would have on each. The level andtype of impact resulting from the design changes in the ISS varyconsiderably from discipline to discipline. The physical sciencesreceived the majority of the cuts made in facilities and equipment forexperiments. Two of the three materials science research racks plannedfor the ISS were canceled, along with all but two of the experimentmodules for the remaining materials facility. More than half of theplanned materials investigations on the ISS were deselected, and thescope of work for those that remain has been reduced dramatically. Oneof the two facilities supporting fluids research (it was also intendedto support combustion research) was canceled, along with a number ofexperiment modules. About 28 percent of the planned fluid physicsexperiments have been canceled so far, with the remaining experimentsnow expected to fly in 2005-2008 if funds become available for thedevelopment of the experiment modules. The only remaining facility forcombustion research was canceled and then reinstated, but its futureremains uncertain. The stowage space for combustion research wasreduced by half and its allocation of crew time by 70 percent. Theresult is that each set of combustion experiments has been replannedand will be constrained to fewer tests over a smaller range ofconditions, thus reducing their scientific value.